Five Takeaways From Spragga Benz’ New Album ‘The Journey Chosen’
In his ninth studio album, Dancehall veteran Spragga Benz has gifted his fans with yet another crowd-pleaser. The Journey Chosen is the appellation of his new 11-track LP, which debuted on Monday, September 28.
The new album follows on the heels of his 15-track riddim-throbbing collection, Chiliagon that broke unto the scene just a year ago, after a 10-year hiatus, and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Album charts.
Now here we are today, sampling another of his musical productions to discover a different arrangement of sounds and characteristics compared to its predecessor. The Journey Chosen is a collage of tracks conveying a slightly subdued Spragga.
It finds the deejay seeking solace as he grieves his departed son, who passed away after being shot in 2008. We also see that his Rastafarian faith is unshakable, and his spiritual thanksgivings are sure. Sweet are his love songs, spiced with inventive yet clichéd sounding flattery. There is certainly an old school flare, and in all, the lyrical architect that he is, takes us on 35-minutes of smooth tongue-slinging deejaying while baring a little of his soul.
As we cruised through The Journey Chosen with Spragga Benz, we found five takeaways, some quite blatant and others you may have missed.
He loves his country.
Spragga has traveled the world and even spent some time abroad, but there is no denying, Jamaica is his “little rock”. The single ‘J’ with Kymani Marley (short for Jamaica) is an eclectic piece of literature that sounds off like a tourist brochure while imparting a blunt review of the temperamental little island.
He metaphorically interprets the country’s features as a schizophrenic femme fatale in lyrics like, “Is like a woman weh have the prettiest face and have the wickedest waist, Jamaica rough like any ghetto in the States. Its like she locked up in the embrace but any second – schizophrenia – she snap and have a gun and a chase.”
This is just a mere inconvenience, however, as he continues, “But a di place weh mi love, mi naa go lef it, Jamaica a mi country and mi naa stop rep it.”
Then in his other single Take a Look, he refers to “my country” again and laments the misfortunes of his people: “War a fight everywhere, peace a neva winner, negative energy pon di antenna. People a hustle, a eva suffer fi provide a dinner.”
His songs are tributes
In what seems like a quest to pay his respects to all that he is grateful for, Spragga has several songs on the new LP that toasts — his country, his lady, Jah Rastafari, and Carlyle Jr., his late son.
We know the single J compliments his island, Jamaica. Spragga says, “Mi see the best life,” living in his homeland and also dedicates several verses to honour athletes like Usain Bolt and Aliyah Atkinson along with the local cuisine, i.e. “pan jerk chicken, fry fish & festival.”
My Lady is a tribute to his beau, “If I never really tell you yet girl, let me tell you right now. You are everything to me / you’re the only one I need…” he serenades.
Guide My Life is a musical prayer saluting his faith in the Rastafarian culture, “Jah you are all that I need,” he chorales in imploring dials.
In Non-Stop Praises he couriers even more tributes, “I don’t know bible verses much but I know is my heart Jah touch / Every day I hold the faith that Rastafari build I great and move I forward to dat place dat Babylon tired fi see my face and cant get me out …”
The biggest tribute of all … for his son
In the tear-jerking composition, Never Leave, the voice of Spragga’s son is heard speaking and laughing in the intro. Matching his vocals with the strumming of musician, Salaam Remi playing a bass guitar, the deejay takes us through a gripping memory of his son.
He still sees his smile and hears his voice, “Carlyle yuh never die,” he sings. Then goes on to bare even more vulnerabilities through his process of healing, “Although the physical passed, the spiritual will never go away – I feel it everywhere I be. So I can never say yuh gone … because yuh in a mi heart, yuh in a mi mind, yuh in a mi speech and in many ways you still a live on”.
Spragga also reminisces about conversations they’ve had, and even shared Carlyle’s previous, inadvertent wishes for his funeral; ‘white and bright colors, balloons, no flowers’.
He honours his son for the inspiration he was to his friends who have gone on to becoming ‘singers, actors, lawyers and college students.’ Spragga says even though his son is gone, he still encourages him to carry on: “Mi nuh in a denial but mi still a see you smile and hear yuh voice a tell me fi carry on”.
He can’t help but being old school
Good try though. While Spragga has done a brilliant job fusing some pretty sweet beats on timelessly versed tracks, his deejaying style and delivery just takes us right back to the 90’s. His singles Di Badness with Konshens, Wifey To Be, J with Kymani, Streets with Kranium , At My Door with Jahazeil, Rotate It with Wayne Wonder, and Take A Look all resonate not only his signature retroactive tones but a cool & collected lyrical flow.
He also sneaks in a few old school lexes in a few tracks, for instance, there is nothing happening in 2020 or the last 10 years for that matter that is regarded as “mucky” but according to Spragga in At My Door with Jahazeil, the “streets a run mucky and corrupt.”
Then there is, “So mi go suh den…” (Rotate It, Track 9) a deejaying style only vets like fellow Dancehall deejay, Sean Paul still uses.
He’s a Campari enthusiast
While the Dancehall young-bloods that are running the streets nowadays like to braff with their Hennessy bottles, even popping variations of top -shelf champagne, Spragga is still fixing with his Campari.
In Di Badness featuring Konshens, “Campari wid di boom, dat a di mad mix,” he says and in Rotate It with Wayne Wonder, as the hot girls “swarm” him in the dance, the deejay sips on his drink of choice, “Mix up Cranberry and Campari.”
Check out the full collection of Spragga Benz’ new album The Journey Chosen here –